CHANGING WORKPLACE CLIMATES
HRPA is proud to present world-class thought leadership from around the globe. The 2019 group of
keynote speakers represent talent and expertise in each of their fields. Learn more about our distin-guished
keynotes – and don’t forget to attend their sessions.
TARANA BURKE
KEYNOTE ADDRESS – LEADING VOICES
AMPLIFY CALL FOR CHANGE: #METOO
“MeToo is really about survivors supporting survivors. And it’s
really about community healing and community action.”
Those are the words of Tarana Burke, founder of the ubiquitous
MeToo movement.
A social activist and the current senior director of programs at
Girls for Gender Equity, Burke began the movement with no idea
of the international profile it would gain.
“MeToo is a movement that was founded in 2006 to support
survivors of sexual violence,” she said. Initially, it was known as Just
Be Inc., an organization promoting the wellness of young female
minorities. The “MeToo” slogan grew out of Burke’s work with
Just Be Inc.
The movement has only grown since then. From its origins as
a movement to support young women of colour who experienced
sexual violence, it now encompasses women and men all over the
world, Burke has told Business Insider.
Burke was living and working in Alabama when the idea was
conceived. She had been working with young girls who disclosed
sexual abuse at an alarming rate and Burke decided to take her
work online to reach more people. The movement grew exponen-tially
from there.
However, It wasn’t until 2017 when actress Alyssa Milano
tweeted the now-infamous hashtag, that it achieved viral status.
Since becoming the original member of “The Silence Breakers”
and TIME magazine’s 2017 Person of the Year, Burke has become
AC 2019
a sought-after voice of reason for the #MeToo movement. From
discussing the power imbalance in the Bill Clinton and Monica
Lewinsky scandal to defining how #MeToo can reframe its future
direction, she has been a highly visible force in the news headlines
throughout 2018.
“People call me a leader of this movement – I accept that as a
title, I guess – but I’m a worker, more than anything. I think it’s
just helped me to scale up and to expand the work that I’m doing
and the vision I have for this work,” she said. “It’s given me a larger
platform to speak about it.”
Attend Tarana Burke’s keynote address at HRPA’s Annual
Conference and Trade Show, Jan. 30 at 8 a.m., sponsored by
Atlas Canada.
MEL ROBBINS
KEYNOTE ADDRESS – THE 5 SECOND RULE – ACHIEVE
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN YOUR CAREER & LIFE
“Change is happening all around us… how do you focus on what
matters?” said Mel Robbins. “In order to get what you want, you’re
going to have to change.”
In order to succeed and thrive in a constantly changing envi-ronment,
we need to make our own internal changes, according to
award-winning commentator and bestselling author Mel Robbins.
“Change comes down to a choice. Not the big choice – actu-ally,
the little ones. The ones that happen five seconds at a time,”
she said.
In her viral, globally acclaimed TEDx talk, Mel Robbins wowed
the world with the science-backed secret to change: The 5 Second
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